1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to powered live roller conveyors having a unique assembly of padding on the drive chains and mounting of the drive chain.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The arrangements for transporting articles on a roller conveyor have been concerned with the drive of the article supporting rollers. Examples of such arrangements are seen in Bodewes U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,805 of Feb. 21, 1978, Fogg U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,430 of Feb. 28, 1967, Werntz U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,923 of Oct. 3, 1978, Turnbough U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,675 of Mar. 16, 1982, Turnbough et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,568 of July 12, 1983 and White et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,809 of July 10, 1984.
In these examples of the prior art, the orientation of the drive chain has followed conventional practice, that is, the rollers have horizontal axes and the chain links lie in vertical planes. The result is that the sprockets driving the chains have the teeth engage the chain rollers which raises the problem of how to use the chains to support padding so it does not interfere with sprocket teeth penetration between rollers. In the examples where the article supporting rollers are driven by direct-contact with rope or other friction means, the support of such means to obtain uniform contact with a span of rollers has presented problems.
There are other problems presented by the foregoing prior art examples. In the rope drive the support of the rope is very important, and obtaining uniform contact is difficult when long stretches of conveyor runs are required. Then again, the stretch that occurs over time adds to the problem of maintaining contact. In the examples where roller chains are used to support friction pads or strips, the problems surround the contact between the chain and the pads so that the teeth of the chain drive sprockets do not interfere with the manner of attaching the pads. The foregoing are some of the problems which become evident upon inspection of the prior art disclosures.